(CNN) - The National Rifle Association's New York state affiliate filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in Buffalo contesting the constitutionality of the SAFE Act, the sweeping gun-control bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law in January, the group announced in a press release.

The new laws fortify New York's existing assault weapons ban, limit the number of bullets allowed in ammunition magazines and strengthen rules that govern the mentally ill, which includes a requirement to report potentially harmful behavior.

(CNN) – Just how much did the stringent new gun laws pushed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo affect the Democrat's approval rating?

A Siena Research Institute poll released Monday showed 58% of New York voters approve of the job Cuomo is doing, down from 60% at the beginning of last month. But a Quinnipiac University survey released last week showed a sharper drop in Cuomo's approval rating, from 74% in December to 58% at the end of January.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – The tough new gun restrictions pushed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have caused a hit to his approval rating, according to a poll released Wednesday, though the Democrat still remains popular with voters in the Empire State.

The Quinnipiac University survey indicated that 59% of New York voters approve of the job Cuomo is doing as governor, down from a 74% approval rating in a poll released last month.FULL POST

(CNN) – The stringent gun laws pushed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and passed by the state legislature this week are viewed favorably by large majorities of voters in the state, a Siena College poll released Thursday indicated.

Those measures include a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, which 73% of New York voters support. Ninety-one percent approve of increasing penalties for purchasing illegal guns and using guns on school grounds.FULL POST

(CNN) - Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into a law Tuesday a new package of gun regulations to fortify the New York's existing assault weapons ban, limit the number of bullets in magazines and strengthen rules that keep the mentally ill from owning firearms.

The state measure is the nation's first gun-control bill since the December 14 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that left 20 elementary school students among the 27 killed by a gunman who then committed suicide.

The measure was approved by the GOP-controlled Senate on Monday and the Democratic-led Assembly on Tuesday and was quickly signed by Cuomo.

President Barack Obama will unveil national proposals which the White House described as "concrete" on Wednesday.

(CNN) - Ban assault weapons. It's a call that's been trumpeted on the airwaves, in protests and in some TV ads.

But now it's coming from a high-profile governor, signaling what could be a major move in the renewed push for tighter gun laws after the Connecticut elementary school shooting last month–a massacre that capped a year marked by other high-profile shootings.FULL POST

(CNN) – New York voters gave their governor Andrew Cuomo the highest approval rating of his two years in office in a poll released Wednesday.

The survey from Quinnipiac University indicated 74% of voters in New York approve of the job Cuomo, a Democrat, is doing in Albany, compared to 13% who disapprove. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans approve of New York's governor, compared to 82% of Democrats and 70% of independents.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie was in Washington, D.C. Thursday for meetings with President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, and other officials regarding relief for Hurricane Sandy, aides to the governor said.

Christie's visit follows a similar trip to Washington earlier this week by New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while both men push for federal funding to aid their states after the late October storm ravaged parts of the Northeast.FULL POST